Clothes-wringer.



' W. J. KELLY.

CLOTHES WRINGER. APPLICATIONl FILED Nov. s. IQIz.

1 62,492., Patented Nov. 30, 191.5.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

N I N ef Ik W. J. KELLY.

CLOTHES WRINGER.

APPLICATION Flu-:D Nov. 6.

1912. L ,l @2,4923 Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

2 SHEET HEET 2.

1%1 ,0 Il@ 4X0 entre sraras earner orion WILLIAM J'. KELLY, 0F CLINTON,IOWA, ASSIGNOR T0 LOVELL MANUFACTURING COIVIPA'NY, OF ERIE,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

cLoTHEs-WRINGER.

` Application filed November 6, 1912. Serial No. 729,854.

To all vwhom it may concern.'

Be i lrnowngthat I, WILLI-AM J. KELLY, a citiz of the United States,residing at Clinton, in the county of Clinton and State .0f Iowa, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in ClOtheS-VVringers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This inventio-n relates to clothes wringers and particularly that typeof wringers having a pressure rail or bar jat the top portion withadjusting means to hold the rollers in firm associated relation or insuch close position relatively to each other as to render the wringingoperation eifective.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a clothes wringer withmeans for quickly releasing the pressure on the upper roller for thepurpose of loosening the latter;

in order that an operator may readily extricate the hand used in feedingthe clothes from injurious engagement with the rollers and also tofacilitate the release of articles of clothing from the rollers that maybe wound around the latter, especially articles of fine material.

The invention is adapted for use either on hand wringers or on poweroperated wringers used in connection with other laundry machinery, andin power operated wringers there is always considerable danger to theoperator in feeding the machine in that the fingers of the hand areliable to be drawn in between the rollers and crushed or mashed, and,furthermore, in operating power wningers loss of ne pieces or articles)often ensues, especially when made from some thin material in view ofthe fact that the goods being of light weight wrap around the rollersand wind so 'tight that it is almost impossible to release them and if apulling strain is eXerted on such fine articles to effect a releaseunder the` conditions noted, the articles are torn or otherwise injured.The release attachment embodying the present features of the inventionhas been devised to overcome these disadvantages, both in hand-operatedand power wringers.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wringer embodyingthe features of the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough a portion of the wringer. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the portionof the wringer showing parts brokeny away and illustrating the clampingrail or bar in released position.

Specification of Letters Patent.

:Patenten um) so, reis.

The numeral 5 designates the lower roller and 6 the upper roller of thepair of rollers as ordinarily used in a clothes wringer and mounted forrotation in suitable bearings provided in the upright frame posts orside stiles 7 and 8, the said posts being slotted as at 9 and therollers 5 and 6 having their spindles 10 extending into the slots andthe upper ro-ller supporting compression springs 11 to yieldinglydispose the said upper roller above and in close association with thelower roller. In the slots 9 the opposite extremities of a pressure bar12 are movably mountstood that the compression springs 11 are located atopposite ends of the wringer and the pressure bar has the contact stripsor plates 13 projected rbeyond the ends of the bar and provided withdepending studs 14 over which the upper ends of the springs 11 arefitted, as clearly shown by Fig. 2. The lower ends of the springs 11 arefitted over posts 15 projecting upwardly from saddle hearings 16engaging the extremities of the spindles 10 of the upper roller 6,'thf`spindles 10 of the lower roller having opposite extremities resting uponmetal bearings 17 at the bottoms of the slots 9. The construction asjust described is well known in the art and may be modified, or anyother analogous organization may be adopted, and in the present form ofwringer the usual clamping rail 18 is employed and is hinged at one vendas at l!) and has the other end free to open, the said railv carryingclamping or adjusting screws 20, the lower ends of the screws beingadapted to engage the sti n -s or plates 13 to regulate the tension onthe roller 6 through the springs 11.

A releasing means for theclamping rail 1S is embodied in the ywringerand consists Of an angle plate 21 secured over the free end of the saidrail 1S and depending below the same and formed with a slot 22, thelower extremity of the angle plate or hinge member 21 being bifurcatedto form the said slot and provide knuckles 23, and in this bifurcatedportion of the angle plate or hinge member 21 the upper end of a latch24 is pivotally mounted. rlhe latch 24; embodies a head 25 and a notch26 at the lower.` terminal of the head and a depending handle 27. rl`henotch 26 has a base wall 28 forming a shoulder which runs off through acurved corner :29 into the inner edge. of the depending handle i7, andthe head 25 gradually curves down to the notch 26 with sufficientclearance to facilitate engagement of the latch with and release of thesaid latch from an angular catch plate 3() secured at a suitableelevation on the one upright or side stile 7 and extending 'fully acrossthe slot or opening 9, as clearly shown by Fig. 1.

' Engaging the extremity of the rail or bar 18 opposite that to whichthe latch 24 is connected is a spring 31 having an arm 32 attached tothe end of the rail or bar 18 and a coil 33 suitably engaging the pin 34of a hinge 35, the said spring also havinga depending` arm 36 secured tothe outer edge portion oi' the adjacent upright or side stile 8. Thefunction of this spring 3l is to exert upward pressure on the clampingrail and to add to the pressure exerted by springs 11 to quickly throwthe rail or barv 18 upwardly when released by the latch 24 The wringeris arranged normal condition for operation by pressing downwardly on therail 18 and drawing the latch 21 inwardly and causing the notch 26 toengage the catch 30, the shoulder 28 of the latch bearing against theunder part of the catch, as clearly shown by Fig. 2. Vhen it is desiredto release the rail 18 and relax the pressure oi' the upper roller 6,the latch 24 is released by drawing outwardly on the depending handle 27thereof to disengage the shoulder 28 from the catch 30, and immediatelythe springs throw the rail or bar 18 upwardly and release the pressureor compression springs 11 to permit the upper roller (3 to be raisedsufficiently from the lower roller 5 to release any article that maybecome wound around the rollers, or in the event of accident to the handof the operator permit the latter to withdraw the hand. The wringer maybe afterward reset by. a very simple operation to bring the roller 6 inclose association with the roller 5. 'It will be seen that the latch 24Cmay be readily manipulated to release the rail 18 and consequentlyslaclien the springs 11, and said catch is in a position most effectivefor quickly operating the same. It will be observed that in thisconstruction of wringer the clamping rail occupies the positionordinarily occupied by similar devices and is also brought back orclosed down in the same fixed position and the adjustment of the springs11 is eil'ected by the adjusting screws 20 carried by the rail. It willalso be seen that the hinge for the clamping rail is offset withrelation to the side stile to which it is attached and the adjacentspring. This arrangement is particularly desirable in wringer structureswherein the springs are mounted inslots in the side stiles as in thepresent instance. l

A further advantage of the improved wringer attachment is that theroller 6 may be readily released in case Ian operator should overloadthe wringer 'with a very Aheavy piece of goods and interfere with thefree operation of the rollers and stall the motor for driving thewringer. If an elec tric type ofmotor is used as thel power means, beprevented under the stallin conditions just explained by the quick reease of the roller 6. A still further advantage in the reinforcement ofthe wringer structure generally results in that the catch piece bracesthe frame posts or side stiles 7 and 8 at one side and strengthens thesaid posts or side stiles in view of the necessity of cutting out thewood to make room for the spring, and at the opposite side the lowerportion of The improved wringer attachment will be .found exceptionallyadvantageous for the burning out of the said motor will y purpose forwhich it has been devised, and

the same may be applied to wringers now inv use at a comparatively smallexpense and, without disorganizing such wringers.

It will be understood that the proportions and dimensions of the severalparts may bev modified at will without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Vhat is claimed' is:

1. In a clothes wringer, the combination of a frame having side stiles,wringing roll-A ers mounted in said Stiles, spring pressure meanscoacting with said rollers., an upper' clamping rath-hinged at one endand having a fixed ,location with relation to the stiles when vcloseddown, adjustable devices carried by the rail to coperate with andregulate the tension ofthe spring pressure means, and means fordetachably locking th rail in depressed position with the side Stiles.

2. In a clothes wringer, the combination of a frame having side Stileswith slots, wringing rollers mounted between the Stiles, springsc'oacting with the rollers and disposed in the slots of the side stiles,an upper clamping rail having a hinge connection otset with relation tothe adjacent spring, adjusting devices carried by the rail to cooperatewith and regulate the tension of the springs, and means for detachablylock-v ing the rail with the Stiles in closed position.

i In testimony whereof I have hereunto set. my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM J. KELLY. Vitnesses M. A. ANDERSON, G. D. KEEFE.

